Chapter 268: Seeing Off
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 268: Seeing Off
"I'm sorry, Woo-jin."
We stepped outside, following the silent dismissal my father had issued.
As soon as we were out, Choi I-seo apologized to me.
"I should have told you beforehand. I just couldn't get my thoughts in order until right before I went in."
"You did that as an ad-lib?"
Seo Ye-rin looked at Choi I-seo with wide-eyed admiration. It seemed she didn't find the current situation particularly serious.
"No, actually, I'm grateful. You said the things I couldn't bring myself to ask."
It was a conversation that made my father's thoughts on Yun-ji crystal clear.
It also made me realize that Yun-ji and I had been, quite literally, dancing in the palm of my father's hand.
I thought I had completely moved on from Oh Yun-ji.
But finding out that the sorrow she and I endured meant absolutely nothing made it impossible to keep my emotions in check.
There was one thing I was curious about, though.
"Are you going to tell Yun-ji?"
I was asking if Choi I-seo intended to tell Oh Yun-ji all of this.
Looking at Yun-ji's recent behavior, she seemed to have completely forgotten about me.
She’d been giving I-seo advice and even making time for her to visit my family home like this.
Because of that, I thought Choi I-seo might hesitate, but...
"Yes, I'm going to tell her."
She answered firmly, as if there were no other choice.
"..."
I couldn't quite wrap my head around it.
What would change if she told those facts to my ex-girlfriend, Oh Yun-ji?
Was she trying to put a final period on the relationship by showing it was impossible from the start?
No, the Choi I-seo I know...
She wasn't the kind of woman to do something so cruel to a friend.
Then, conversely, was she planning to mention some other kind of opportunity?
However...
"I-seo, I've already given up on Yun-ji."
I needed to make my intentions clear.
This wasn't just for Yun-ji's sake; it was also out of a selfish desire not to give even a hint of anxiety to the three people standing before me.
"I know it sounds ridiculous saying this to the three of you at once. But this is how I feel. I don't want anyone else but you guys."
"..."
"I think it's best if Yun-ji just forgets me and meets someone else."
In the end, the reason Yun-ji wasn't accepted by my father was because of her own father.
Is it right to go and poke at her wounds again?
I decided it wasn't.
But.
"Woo-jin."
Choi I-seo spoke in a clear, unwavering voice.
"You still have feelings for Yun-ji."
Those words struck me like a bolt.
Because they dug into me with such strange, heavy precision...
I couldn't give her any answer at all.
* * *
"Well, we'll be going now."
"Goodbye!"
"..."
Before I knew it, it was late evening.
I had been incredibly busy today, but what remained wasn't physical exhaustion; it was a thorn pricking at my heart.
My mind was wide awake as if I’d downed an energy drink, yet I felt drained.
"Wait! Girls, wait a second!"
My mom caught them just as they were about to head out and suddenly handed them three white envelopes.
"Take these!"
"Oh..."
The situation was exactly what Seo Ye-rin had predicted earlier.
Handing over white envelopes—it was a scene straight out of a drama where the mother tells the girls to break up with her son.
I might have expected it from my father, but I wondered why Mom was suddenly doing this.
"Please take good care of our boy."
"..."
"He's such a handful, isn't he? Even while raising him, there were times I'd find him adorable one second and a total brat the next."
"Mom?"
"Oh, please just get along with him. I heard you girls were the ones who nursed him when he was hurt."
It was the exact opposite of a drama.
It wasn't a bribe to stay away from her son; it was a bribe not to dump him.
"Th-this is a lot of money!"
Yoo Ah-rin, who thought it was a joke at first, looked shocked and tried to refuse.
I wondered just how much she’d put in there.
"Te-te-ten million won?!"
At Seo Ye-rin's dramatic shout, I practically jumped out of my skin.
"Wait a minute! You're giving them an amount you've never even given your own son?!"
My emotions, which had been settled and calm just a moment ago, flared up again.
I mean, what kind of mother pays ten million won as a 'friendship fee' just so people will stay with her son?
"Isn't this the trend these days? Cliche-breaking?"
It seemed Mom had wanted to try this at least once.
Naturally, the girls insisted it was too much money and refused, so the envelopes went back into Mom's arms.
Right before they left.
Choi I-seo slipped over to me.
"Don't overthink it too much."
"How can I not overthink it, you brat?"
Choi I-seo was leaving after dumping a massive load of worries on me. I wanted to pinch her cheeks right then and there, but...
Seeing her worry about me at the same time made me feel a bit relieved.
Perhaps because I felt a bit more at ease, I let out the most sincere words among the many swirling in my head.
"I like you, Choi I-seo."
Choi I-seo let out a short laugh.
"I like you too."
She looked like she had more to say, but she turned away without uttering another word.
Seeing Choi I-seo take her seat in the back, Yoo Ah-rin marched over to me.
"Hey, things are looking pretty complicated, aren't they?"
"Well, yeah."
"Honestly, I don't really get why Choi I-seo wants to tell Oh Yun-ji all that."
"..."
"Do you?"
She had a serious expression, but the question felt anything but serious, making me let out a hollow laugh.
"Did you come over here secretly just to ask that?"
"It feels like I'm the only bitch who can't read the room. I mean, there's no space left as it is, so why is she trying to squeeze more people in?"
"It's not like I'm the one doing it."
"That's what's so frustrating. I'm hoping one of us will eventually get sick of you and leave, you know? But I thought we were enemies who were also allies in a way."
"Allies in what?"
"Allies who are all blind for the same idiot?"
I wasn't sure if I should be happy about that or not.
"But why is she increasing the number of enemies?! Is this some kind of 'using an enemy to catch an enemy' tactic?! What's wrong with her? Did she exercise so much her brain flipped? Or did working with broadcasters make her addicted to drama?"
"Ah-rin, I can hear you."
When I-seo chimed in from behind, sounding embarrassed, Yoo Ah-rin slapped her own forehead and snapped back.
"I'm saying it so you can hear me, you wench!"
"Sigh, I'll try to work things out with Yun-ji properly."
"If you're going to break up with him and put Yun-ji in that spot, then go ahead!"
"..."
"Look at this piece of work, she's got no answer."
I don't know why she went from talking to me to fighting with Choi I-seo. Regardless, Yoo Ah-rin glared at me and gave a clear warning.
"Hey, if the number grows any more, I'm seriously not going to take it. Got it? You need to realize I'm barely tolerating the current situation as it is."
I gulped and was about to nod when Seo Ye-rin, who had been listening from behind, cut in.
"For someone saying that, you enjoy the threesomes more than anyone, Yoo Ah-rin."
"Hey!"
"Did I say anything wrong? You've been doing an attendance check every time we have a threesome."
"No, that's—!"
Yoo Ah-rin, who was about to retort, shut her mouth. Come to think of it, it wasn't exactly wrong.
"It started when Yoo Ah-rin came back while we were at Gold One, and last time at your house, you suddenly jumped in while he was with I-seo."
As I muttered while recalling that day, Yoo Ah-rin huffed and puffed. But she still couldn't find a comeback.
"Threesome addict, Yoo Ah-rin."
When I reached that conclusion, she finally snapped and punched me right in the solar plexus.
"Gah!"
It was a relief Mom had gone back inside. If she’d seen her son getting beaten up...
Wait, why do I feel like she would've enjoyed it?
"Anyway! If you add any more, you're dead! If Choi I-seo tries anything, you stop her!"
"H-how am I supposed to stop her?"
"Use force! Use money! Or use that dick you're so proud of to turn her brain to mush! Just do whatever it takes to stop it!"
With that, Yoo Ah-rin hopped into the seat next to Choi I-seo.
"You sure are quick to sit next to me."
"Shut up, I'm dying of embarrassment."
The two of them bickering was something I'd seen countless times, so I just let it slide.
I don't know if there was a specific order to this, but finally, Seo Ye-rin stood before me.
She had a beaming smile on her face.
"And what about you?"
When I asked if she had something to say, Seo Ye-rin gestured for me to lean in.
As I lowered my ear, the gazes of the two already in the car naturally drifted toward us.
They seemed curious about what she was whispering in secret.
"I don't actually have anything to say."
Despite whispering in my ear, Seo Ye-rin was just giggling mischievously.
"I'm juuuust whispering like this to make the others jealous."
"..."
She really goes out of her way for the smallest things.
But surprisingly, the effect was certain.
Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin's eyes were fixed intently on us.
"But Woo-jin. I noticed you don't have a computer in your room. Get one."
"To play games together?"
"Yeah! We can talk on Discord."
"Aren't you going to be too busy filming to play games?"
"I'm almost done with the final shoots, so I'll be free again soon!"
Well, if that was the case.
"Sure, let's play some games together."
"I'll come visit again later. There's a game I want to play with you then."
"A game you want to play together?"
" 'Dozens of Ways to Seduce the Woman You Love.' "
"...That sounds exactly like an adult game."
"It is an adult game."
Oho.
So this woman is suggesting we play an adult game together at her boyfriend's family home, with his parents around and even his pregnant sister-in-law present?
"Go, just go! Did you drink alone or something?!"
"Hehehehe!"
I pushed Seo Ye-rin and tucked her into the car. I wondered if Senior Ju-hee was driving, but a different driver was behind the wheel.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"You two sure talked for a long time."
"Woo-jin asked me what kind of panties I was wearing."
Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin immediately began interrogating Seo Ye-rin. Whatever the case, the car started moving, and I waved them off.
I headed back inside.
Choi Jin-ah, who still hadn't left, was in the middle of the living room playing a violin she’d gotten from who-knows-where.
"They say classical music is good for prenatal care."
At Mom's words as she listened with my sister-in-law, I glanced at Choi Jin-ah.
To think a world-class violinist was playing so fiercely, sweat pouring down her face...
Just because she didn't want to go home.
"Why is she getting more pathetic by the day?"
When I muttered that, Choi Jin-ah must have heard me, because she glared at me with fire in her eyes.